Kindergartners on the move
Pendleton County Schools leaders figured out a way to rearrange the daily kindergarten schedule and save the cost of four teacher salaries. The district ended up preserving both its full-day kindergarten and the quality of the program.
Homing in on the homeless
Eleven percent of Newport Independent’s students are homeless – a figure that prompted the relatively small district to hire a full-time homeless program coordinator to help remove the many barriers these students face when it comes to attending school.
Scaling walls
How did one of the world’s largest technology behemoths end up helping Lee County teachers and students with their technology program? The story of how Microsoft Corp. singled out the district is positively serendipitous.
Still on the job
Not all energy managers were switched to the “off” position when a federal grant ended earlier this year, pulling the plug that funded their jobs. Many school boards decided the savings the energy experts generated offset picking up the cost of their salaries.
Fast and furious filing
It would be unwise to see to any deep meanings in this year’s election filing figures, but the percentage of incumbents who filed for re-election is up slightly, and the number facing opposition is down. As usual, there were some quirky developments befitting the silly season.